Thursday, November 24, 2016

I need to take a short break from doing this

While I decide whether to continue posting here or not. My health has seriously deteriorated over recent months, leaving me, amongst other things, breathless and in almost constant pain.

I'm also finding that the whole process is stressing me out. It takes an enormous amount of time sourcing and posting material here - upwards of six hours every day. Trawling through news websites with their often vile, repugnant views.

Other websites that appear to have been designed to be infuriating. With stupid surveys, pop-up ads, and embedded video adverts - sometimes two or three playing at the same time - before you eventually get to the story.

And that's not to mention the number of visitors. I suspect if I opened a Twitter account and posted a photo of my one daily meal, I'd get more views than I get here these days. I think that's the saddest thing of all. Anyway, as I said, I need a break while I decide what's best to do.

194 comments:

I was actually worried about you after I didn't see the update. Take care of yourself. I will be disappointed in not seeing your blog every day, but some things are more important than that. I hope you will get better soon and are able to return. If not, I loved your blog and I wish you luck in any future endeavors. Xoxo Shak

I'm so sorry to hear about your health problems. I hope you will feel better soon.

While I do enjoy your site (tremendously in fact, and I will sorely miss my daily visits), your first priority should always be you. Health wise, that's a given. But additionally; if you do not enjoy collecting material for the site (what with your comment on vile and repugnant news sites), then perhaps you should reconsider spending your time on something that actually makes you feel good, or even happy.

Your site has made me happy. Thank you so much. Take care of yourself. All the best!

I just wanted to say I look at your blog every day, yours is the first one I look at. You find some interesting and funny stuff. I hadn't thought about how much effort you put into it before. I appreciate you doing that for us, the faceless internet people. I don't want you to stop but if you feel you need to for your health then we'd understand. I hope you feel better soon.Sending love in your direction.

it is more than mere entertainment. I usually view your stuff LAST, after viewing a dozen news and event postings. It helps balance the information overload in my brain, to bring this world of information to a center point, to regulate the temperature to normal. Whether or not you continue, know that you have already contributed. I wish you the best with your health.

I'm so sorry to hear about your health. Please take care of yourself, physically and mentally, and get better soon. I love reading your blog everyday and would greatly miss it, but will understand if it's no longer something you can maintain without compromising your health. I second a previous commenter who said that your blog brings a bit of perspective and levity to my day. I, too, always save it for last as I know I'll get a good chuckle or 'awwwww' from each day's post. All the best, T.

This site was among the top 5 places I would check every day, love your choices of stories over the years, you did fantastic!! We all would miss you work, but your health is #1 ... You take care of YOU.And thank you for all you have done, hope your health improves quickly.

Having been through a stretch of chronic pain, you amaze me that you've managed this site so long. Please, rest and heal. Put up one story like your usual top item, perhaps, just so we know you're still there? Avoid those toxic and irritating sites, certainly.

You've created something amazing here. But all things have a lifetime, and when it's too much, it's too much. Thank you for what you've done.

Like everyone else, I want to say thank you for your hard work in entertaining us for all these years. Get yourself well, and if you decide it's what you want to do, we'd all be happy to have you back.

I feel bad for you, Kev, also because I experience, with my "News of the Weird," similar annoyances. (I'm perhaps just as depressed as you about the ad-hijacking of websites and the declining appreciation for our own hard work.) I hope you will finally take me up on my offer (made three times, as I recall) to let me send you some cash as payback for all the stories I've "stolen" from you over the years. I also hope you'll keep "Arbroath" going, although that sounds a little selfish for me to write that. Kev, I am at ministerchuck at the domain gmail.

I SO understand. Health issues suck (speaking from experience) and being exposed to the disgusting things in the world while you look for content for us to enjoy here must just aggravate the hell out of you.

Please take care of yourself. Thank you for all the enjoyment you have brought us for so long. (I could always count on something unique here to lift my spirits.) But nothing lasts forever and you shouldn't feel burdened with doing something forever -- especially if it's bringing you more pain than pleasure.

You are one of the first sites I visit each day. As you see you have brought joy too many and it is now your time to relax and get healthy with the knowledge that you have made your contribution to humanity.

Please take care of your health, and know others are thinking of you and wishing you well! I've been coming here for years and that's an awful long time to keep something like this going solo - I commend you! Thank you so much for your hard work and putting this all together. It's been a lovely place to come every day! Please remember you're doing us all a service, without any compensation, and that you don't owe us anything. If you feel it's time to close up shop, especially for your own wellbeing, please don't have any regrets. You've done a marvelous job and left us a wonderful site.

With it being Thanksgiving here in the US today, I want to thank you deeply, for all the joy your work has brought me over the years. You have given us all a great gift through your blog, and I only wish there was some way for us to give back to you. I'll be thinking of you each morning when I would be reading Arbroath. Wishing you all the best from Philly, please take care of your self.

I've loved your blog for years, and will look forward to any additional content, should you be able to. May i make a suggestion? This may help you, especially if your output is limited. That is, avoid stories that are sad or mean or stupid (on the theory that psychological well-being can affect physical w-b). Keep all the funny and heart-warming stuff- It's panacea for the soul. Maybe a placebo, but it DOES work! anyway, whatever, just get better, love you.

Take care of yourself!I don't want to give you any pressure to return, cuz the expectation to perform is killer, but we'll all be happy if you do, but we'll all totally understand if you don't.Cheers from Canada!

Hope you can sort out your health issues, and if you ever get back to a point where you can enjoy working on it this blog that would be awesome, but if it's not rewarding anymore I think we would understand. You cater to a group who would probably not be as excited for a food pics on twitter, you may very well be right about the page views, but this blog is a fine aged cheddar in a world of processed cheese :)

I follow your blog every day. Thus, I am saddened to hear I will be without this stop on the internet. But my sadness pales in comparison to your health. Please take some time and get better. As far as the corrosive nature of the internet, I feel your pain.

I see I'm not alone in making this site my first stop each day. The work you've put into it shows. It's valuable to me and I dearly wish I had funds to help your cause(s). But also as many have said, what's most valuable is your health—physical and mental—and I'm hoping you'll be able to address both successfully. Sincerest best wishes to you.

Even though I'm basically repeating other comments, I wanted to add to the visible tally of well-wishing.

Your blog is the first to be visited. By starting out with your entry's that helped me smile, you set the stage for a better day.Thank you for years of quality enjoyment. Good luck with the health problems, age sure has its drawback. Gordon of Pentwater.

So sorry to hear you're having health problems. I have been reading your blog every day for the past three years and have enjoyed it thoroughly. While I will miss the articles and humor, it's best for you to worry about your health right now. Take care.

Get well soon! I read your blog every morning and it always lifts my spirits and makes me laugh. You will be missed! I hope your health improves and you come back soon. With love and good wishes from Palo Alto, California. :)

I'm with you. I have appreciated everything you've done. Even if/when you stop this blog, I hope...pray...you can find relief from the pain. Can't say much about the vile views you keep finding except that I would probably appreciate some form of net censorship because so many young people have taken our right to free speech to share their poisoned minds and infect others. May you find the relief you need.

Your health and happiness come first and foremost. Honestly, I will miss reading your site daily. I look forward to my morning chuckles. I'm sorry it involves so much frustration and anxiety. Please take care of yourself, and thank you for the years of work and dedication.

Thanks from Germany for many years of joy your site has brought to me and my wife. Take care of yourself and tell us when you need something; I'm confident some of your loyal readers are able and willing to help.We wish you the best!

Have enjoyed your site for years and really appreciate the hard work you have put into it. However health comes first so I wish you well with your recovery. Only come back to it if you feel it's the right thing to do. Regards Gazza

I can't remember how long ago I found your site; I think I got here via unknownhighway. It's become part of my daily morning routine ever since. You even posted news from my hometown (Richard Nixon in a tree)! Glad you were here; too bad you have to go, but you do what you have to. Take care of yourself.

Sorry to hear that, but you need to do what's best for you. I do want you to know that your site is one of the very few I have bookmarked and the first I check each day, because it has been so consistently entertaining. If you cannot continue, we will miss you, but we will also understand. Thanks for everything.

I am sorry to hear you are not feeling well. Thank you for all you have done - I have enjoyed it - but PLEASE take care of yourself first. If it is no longer giving you joy then don't do it. Life is too short.

Kevin, as with the other posters I am so sorry to hear that the stress of the research has affected your health :-( Not one of us wants to experience the joy from your website at the expense of your health. We do want you to know, though, how much we appreciate what you have accomplished over the years. For me, visiting your site at the end of the day has always offered a reprieve after all the horror in the news. I could laugh and express a sigh of relief that while the world is going crazy, still it carries on, weird things happen, cuteness explodes and humour abounds. I found your website through News of the Weird as Chuck listed you as a link. That is rather ironic as, at the time, he was taking a break due to health concerns. Now, maybe the two of you could hang out together, compare notes and decide that looking after yourselves is the very best medicine of all. While you know we would love to have you back, more than anything, we'd love to hear that you have returned to excellent health. Please enjoy the break that you greatly deserve. Get well and carry on [with whatever makes you happy :-p]!All the very best - Dianne from Canada P.S.: Happy birthday, Shak :-)

Like so many others said, I read you every day and I appreciate your choices. You have an instinctive eye for this sort of work.

But do whatever you have to do to be healthy and happy. Take a break. Maybe later when you feel better things will be different, and you'll come back, and if not, you still accomplished something worthwhile and made my life and many other people's lives better. You really did. That's the part that counts, not this rough patch.

I've had things go wrong in my life and what we'll laughingly call my career that just turned the whole thing upside-down and spilled out everything I cared about and everything that I thought made me /me/, and every time something else came along to care about. None of these events was health-related, so I can't really feel what you're going through, but I sympathize as far as I'm capable and wish you good luck.

I've always known how hard it is to run any such blog as this, the trawling for content is exhausting. I add my kudos and best wishes to you and yours. In any case, continued after a sabbatical or not, we are more fortunate for having your blog around in the world. Take care of yourself, Best regards forever, --A.

Sorry to hear you are so unwell and I hope you find a way to feel better soon. Thank you for the entertaining site that I have visited a few times a week for a number of years now. I have not commented often but just know it has been read and really appreciated at the end of many of my working days. Good luck with your health.

As with others, this is one of the few sites I read every day. You have been amazingly prolific - no wonder it is exhausting. Thankyou for all your hard work. If you do keep going why not just once a week like News of the Weird. (which I also read and appreciate).

Oh, my, Kevin! I'm so sorry to hear about your health problems. Of course, you must put your health first.I want to add another voice of praise for your work. I save the best for last--and Arbroath is consistently the best blog on the Net. Your hard work and truly brilliant choices have delighted me for years. The pix you find to illustrate the stories are a whole other triumph, as so many of us have noted over the years. Thank you for your hard work and your creativity in presenting your finds.I devoutly hope your health will improve by leaps and bounds, and that you may grace us with your with and charm again soon.Barbara from Torrance California

thank you for your tireless work over the years on our behalf and the pleasure you have given us

as with so many others, your blog is one I look forward to reading each day and I will miss it if you decide you no longer can maintain it - but your health must come first. I can understand the pressure and stress of searching for material to present each day must take its toll and hope a rest from doing that will ease your health problems

selfishly, I hope - health permitting - you will someday revive 'Arbroath' (perhaps post just one or two days a week instead of each day) but whatever you decide to do, I wish you well in the future

Kevin, thanks so much for making my morning ritual so amusing and amazing for many years. I'm sorry your health is poor, and wish you strength and healing and happiness. If you return to the blog, so many will be happy, but we will all understand if you choose not to do so. Cheers! KaraBoo in Ohio

Don't worry about stopping your blog, of course people will miss it, but you should enjoy the fact that so many people have read and enjoyed your blog for quite a number of years. Be proud of it, but its no longer a joy for you to do, relax and just look after yourself.

And thanks for providing this little bit of interest and humour for so many years.

The amount of work a meaningful daily blog requires could really grind a person down over time. Take a good vacation from it

Just know that your site is a big, bright spot in my morning reading. After reading the news sites, I desperately need a reminder of how wide and odd the range of human and animal behaviour is. It opens my heart to help me face another day.

I hope you will refresh and come back to share your colledtion of mind baffling earthling behaviours.

Long time lurker here- I have enjoyed your blog for a long time and will miss your sense of humour and all the interesting things you post. I hope you can leave the archives online. All the best to you xx

I just want to say that I love your blog and read it religiously.It's the high point of my evening. I know how vexing health problems can be as I have late stage emphysema. Things sure can suck sometimes.You take care, rest up and I hope to read your blog again soon. Your faithful fan, Art Squire.

I'm so sorry to hear of your health problems. I've often wondered how you find all of the great and interesting stories you link here. You've been suffering all of the stress of looking through news sites to find these great articles so the rest of us wouldn't have to! I've often looked up more details on stories that piqued my interest and learned more about things. You've put an enormous amount of work in and built an exceptional site. I think you've done enough work here to keep a whole staff busy. I hope you have a good rest, know that you've brought a lot of enjoyment to a lot of people, worldwide.

Another one. Your blog makes me laugh or smile regularly, I check in nightly. I've appreciated it every time. I'm sure you're tired, I sure would be after all that time. Take care of the health you have, also sometimes a major and lengthy undertaking. If this must be the end of it, then thank you 10,000 times over, great stuff here. You will be sorely missed. If you get better and get back into it, great then. But seriously, thank you thank you thank you

Oh, this is sad news indeed. Some of my most fun or interesting posts on Facebook can be attributed back to you. Prayers for relief from your pain and a rejuvenation of your health. I very much hope that this is just a short break and you will be back blogging soon.

This blog is a bright spot in my day. When you are ready and able to come back (if you don't shitcan the whole thing and there's shame or hard feelings if you have to) we'll be waiting for you with huzzah's!

All the best to you and please get your health in order, that's the most important thing. Take care and get well soon, no matter what it takes. Thank you for the time and care you've put into this wonderful Web Site. All the best! Cheers!

Your health is the most important thing of all! As you see, so many of us love your blog and appreciate your efforts but it should not be a burden for you. Take a break, and please do take care of yourself! If you decide to return, perhaps you could look at reducing your volume of posts to once or twice a week instead of daily. Hugs to you, feel better! mjjj

I sincerely hope you are better soon. Take time to look after yourself, and thank you so much for keeping us entertained for as long as you have. Great blog, have really enjoyed browsing it several times a week. Thank you very much. Very best wishes. Al

As I have my own blog and also know how time consuming that is to put up a few articles, I really feel for you.I read your blog everyday and would feel very sad if you don't continue any longer and yet I think you should care about your health first,Please look after yourself and hope you will feel better soon.I would also like you to know that your work helped me immensely over the years.I can't say thank you enough.

Hello. I'm very sorry to hear about your health issues, sending good wishes your way and I hope things improve very soon. I just wanted to thank you for all the laughs you've provided me with for the last 3/4 years. I've very much enjoyed your posts and have pretty much visited your blog every day. I'll miss your posts a great deal, but obviously you must do everything you can to get better and alleviate stress. Thanks again, and take care xx

Sending prayers, hugs and positive energy from where I live in Hong Kong, China. I have been a fan of yours for years, and suspect that there are people all around the world who appreciate what you do but never get around to saying thank you. Love your column and I'm sure we will all enjoy it whenever you feel like writing it, whether it is daily or weekly or just occasional

I too look at your site daily, just for the first image. It always made me happy, but I get where you're coming from. You need to purge your psyche from all the crap that surrounds the one nugget you find post worthy. Hope you feel better.

Your blog has been a great source of conversation for several years now at our workplace. It can feel like you're posting into a vacuum without feedback, so we're trying to make up for that.Here's to your health and it's improvement. Taking care of yourself first is the best thing to do, so to hell with the internet. Be well and at ease, friend, and thanks for all the stuff, fluff, and nonsense you've provided.

I am very sorry to hear of your stress and ill-health. I've been away for a few days over the Thanksgiving Holiday and I was looking forward to coming back online to your blog.

Like many others here, your blog is one of my daily must see sites and we, above all else, care for your well being. Sometimes it helps people to recover doing the things they like. I believe you enjoy doing this somewhat for you to do it daily. Maybe it would help if you cut back to posting every few days rather than everyday or cutting it off completely?

Enjoy your posts, but agree your health is much more important! You do you, we'll be here when you get back.

I might have a suggestion for you.....try using an RSS feed like feedly.com to gather up your sites, you only have to visit once to get the RSS link and then you can scroll through them a lot easier to find the interesting ones!

As a disabled person I completely understand where you're coming from.

Post when you find something that you feel should be posted. I read plenty of blogs that don't change often. When something that you used to do for fun is no longer actually fun, stop doing that.

Cut back or quit if need be. I truly hope that your condition improves. Best of luck in all your endeavors and please post when you feel like. We'll continue to occasionally check back here until you take it down. Thanks for exposing us to the idiocy that didn't happen In Arbroath

I come here a few times a week because I don't want to read miserable news sites. I hope that your health improves. Whatever you decide, thank you for the many years of oddball news, cute pics, and giving me something interesting to look at when I need a break from everything else.

Damn. Missed a few days with holiday travel and just checked in to catch up only to see your sad update. I'm so sorry to hear about your health issues! Know that prayers and positive thoughts are coming your way for better health and healing. Also know that I start each day at home with your blog and a hot cup of coffee, and can always count on snorting coffee out my nose laughing at the posts, your pictures and clever headlines. Your humor, wit and dedication are going to be missed.

I've been a long-time lurker on this website; along with all of the other folks who have posted here, I greatly enjoy your site and appreciate all the time you've put into it over the years. I know many of us will miss your posts if you decide not to continue, but your health and happiness must come first. Thanks for providing so much enjoyment and so many laughs over the years, and I hope your health improves!

I'm sorry to hear you're poorly, but your efforts are indeed appreciated. I've been a regular visitor to your site since I chanced on a link ... and I was hooked! You have a broad range of interests and I'm sure it reflects in a broad range of readers!

I hope your health takes a turn for the better. It's much more important than keeping the site fresh, TCB as the King would say.

That being said, your site has been a constant source of entertainment and inspiration for me for years. I appreciate the work you've put in it, and your standards and sense of humor that factor into the curation of your content are exemplary. I hope you can continue, but understand if you can't - but know this, if this is the end of Arbroath, it will be missed. In a world of social media, the oldschool web dies the death of a thousand cuts a little more every day.

Sorry to hear about your health, I hope things get better with you sooner or later. If this ends up being your last post then a thank you is in order. For years this has been a reliable go-to for all the delightful and strange things out there on the interwebs. Your blog has brought more than a few smiles to my face. Thank you for your time all these years.

I found you from news of the wierd. Since then you have given me years of enjoyment. I can honestly call you one of my rays of sunshine. If you need a break please take it you have been one of the best for years you deserve it. Thank you.

I hope your health is improving. A suggestion: Set up a Twitter account and front-load it with several cat-related stories (and add cat-related hashtags) but then go back to your regular dish-mash of wonderful stuff, fluff and nonsense, and tweet the headlines from that. Maybe that would attract the animal lovers who should be enjoying your excellent site.

I will be sorry if you stop, but thank you for many years of enjoyment.

I have been a fan/follower of yours for a long time, and am greatly saddened that you may give this up for good. But that is selfish of me. Your well-being must always be your first consideration, and if maintaining this blog is too difficult, too unpleasant, too much, or simply no longer fun for you, then stop it altogether. I and many others are and will continue to be grateful for what you have provided these many years. Nothing gold can stay. Thank you, take care, and may you enjoy the best of luck in all your future endeavors.

Hi, I'm a regular visitor too. Hope you get well soon, but there's no point in continuing with this if it's causing you stress, especially when you're unwell. I appreciate how much work goes into it. Finding fresh stories and videos every day is a full time job. As regards some of the issues you're having while doing so - pop up ads, auto playing videos etc there's a few new adblockers around that work fairly well. I use 'uBlock Origin' and haven't had any problems. Also there are many ways to disable auto playing of videos but it depends on which browser you use. Anyway really hope you end up happier, healthier and at peace whatever you decide.

I want you to know that this blog is one of the only bookmarks that has followed me over the course of several computers and a few relocations. When everything else on the news or internet was unbearable, I could always sit up with the thought of "Hey, what's going on over at NTDWA?"

Whatever the future holds for you, I wanted to thank you for all the years of dependable absurdity that always produces the kind of smile on my face that makes me feel like everything is as it should be.

Hi, your website has been my constant companion while studying my first university degree, then my masters, my up's and my downs, my career in social work, my personal struggles with many different issues. Sometimes taking a hiatus is important, thank you for the service you offer our internet community. I sincerely wish you the very best. Love from Australia

oh no :( this is my all time favorite site to frequent for REAL news. I am really sad that you aren't sure if you should continue, because I sure am a fan. I am even more sad to hear that you are not feeling well, but I hope you get better and that you continue this site asap.

Sorry to hear you too are struggling with your health. I'm recovering from a major surgery and your blog brightens my days. I hope the support of fans and readers brightens your day. Whatever you decide to do you have our thanks!

Dear Arbroath, A few of us have put some money into a gofundme account on your behalf. If you'd be able to set yourself up as the beneficiary of it we'd be delighted for you to receive the cash. If you're not available or perhaps not interested (let's face it, you're not in this for the cash and we all hope you're sunning yourself somewhere, on the road to recovery) the donors will get their cash refunded.

@jaye lindner The gofundme account is mentioned earlier on in the comments here (just search for gofundme). Unfortunately for the moment, the account's closed to new donations. The gofundme website only allows an account to run for a while before it has to be associated with someone's bank account. I set it up in the hope that Arbroath would take it over, change the password (so nobody but he could access it) and then put in his own details. That way, only he had control over it.

The account has several days to run before it starts issuing people refunds. As I've donated too, I'd much rather my money went onto his recuperation (even if it's just a free takeaway) rather than just came back to me.

I hope you get better...your site has been an amalgam of some of the most interesting, eclectic collections I've ever seen. I like to use your links...excellent! I'll miss you...but I understand the strain!!! Best wishes and love to you!!

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